Wednesday, August 12
Seeing and Hearing
And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies.
John 3:32a
Recommended Reading
Luke 7:20-23
An eighteenth-century English jurist named William Blackstone is responsible for how the United States views the foundations of common law—especially regarding rules of evidence and testimony. His Commentaries on the Laws of England are still in use today.
The Bible has something to say about evidence as well, calling it "that which we have seen and heard" (1 John 1:3). In other words, a testimony is an eyewitness account. And that standard also forms the basis of a Christian's testimony of salvation through Christ. The evidence in a Christian testimony consists of the changes in one's life after an encounter with Jesus Christ, much as the blind man said in John 9: "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see" (verse 25). No one can deny the changes brought about in your life by the working of the Holy Spirit in you. Those changes are the evidence on which a person hearing your testimony may be encouraged to believe in Christ as well.
Make a list today of the changes that Christ has made in your life. Organize them in a way that can be communicated to others when God gives you that opportunity.
"Testimony" is not a synonym for "autobiography"! To witness is to speak of Christ.
John R. W. Stott
Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 46:1 - 48:47
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Today's Turning Point with David Jeremiah
Tuesday, August 11
The Refiner's Fire
… you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:6-7
Recommended Reading
1 Peter 1:3-9
Most people think a goldsmith's furnace is used to extract gold from its ore and burn away the dross and impurities, purifying the metal. That's only half right. It also makes the gold pliable. Alexander of Neckham, a twelfth-century Englishman, wrote of a goldsmith who plunged the gold into the fire to soften it. As Neckham watched, the metal was molded into the required form using tongs, hammer, and anvil. Other tools included a saw, a file, and even a rabbit's foot for smoothing, polishing, and wiping the surface.
As Christians, it's not hard to see the analogy. We become more sensitive to God during hard times. We're forced to trust Him in new ways during trials. We fall to our knees in helpless dependence on His grace. We rediscover the power of prayer, and we claim promises in the Bible hitherto neglected. In the process, the fire eliminates those things that might be obscuring our vision of our Heavenly Father, and we are molded into the image of our Lord.
The Refiner's fire is always for His glory and our good.
When God puts us in the furnace, His hand is on the thermostat and His eye is on the clock.
Author unknown
Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 42:1 - 45:5
The Refiner's Fire
… you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:6-7
Recommended Reading
1 Peter 1:3-9
Most people think a goldsmith's furnace is used to extract gold from its ore and burn away the dross and impurities, purifying the metal. That's only half right. It also makes the gold pliable. Alexander of Neckham, a twelfth-century Englishman, wrote of a goldsmith who plunged the gold into the fire to soften it. As Neckham watched, the metal was molded into the required form using tongs, hammer, and anvil. Other tools included a saw, a file, and even a rabbit's foot for smoothing, polishing, and wiping the surface.
As Christians, it's not hard to see the analogy. We become more sensitive to God during hard times. We're forced to trust Him in new ways during trials. We fall to our knees in helpless dependence on His grace. We rediscover the power of prayer, and we claim promises in the Bible hitherto neglected. In the process, the fire eliminates those things that might be obscuring our vision of our Heavenly Father, and we are molded into the image of our Lord.
The Refiner's fire is always for His glory and our good.
When God puts us in the furnace, His hand is on the thermostat and His eye is on the clock.
Author unknown
Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 42:1 - 45:5
The Ransomed Heart - Beauty Is Absolutely Essential
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Beauty Is Absolutely Essential
08/09/2009
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I (John) just let out a deep sigh. That we even need to explain how beauty is so absolutely essential to God only shows how dull we have grown to him, to the world in which we live, and to Eve. Far too many years of our own spiritual lives were lived with barely a nod to beauty, to the central role that beauty plays in the life of God, and in our own lives. How could we have missed this?
Beauty is essential to God. No—that’s not putting it strongly enough. Beauty is the essence of God.
The first way we know this is through nature, the world God has given us. Scripture says that the created world is filled with the glory of God (Isa. 6:3). In what way? Primarily through its beauty. We had a wet spring here in Colorado, and the wildflowers are coming up everywhere—lupine and wild iris and Shasta daisy and a dozen others. The aspens have their heart-shaped leaves again, trembling in the slightest breeze. Massive thunderclouds are rolling in, bringing with them the glorious sunsets they magnify. The earth in summer is brimming with beauty, beauty of such magnificence and variety and unembarrassed lavishness, ripe beauty, lush beauty, beauty given to us with such generosity and abundance it is almost scandalous.
Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Stop for a moment and let that sink in. We’re so used to evaluating everything (and everyone) by their usefulness, this thought will take a minute or two to dawn on us. Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Which is to say, beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses (for our God has seen fit to arrange for this). Nature at the height of its glory shouts, Beauty is essential! revealing that Beauty is the essence of God. The whole world is full of his glory.
Beauty Is Absolutely Essential
08/09/2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I (John) just let out a deep sigh. That we even need to explain how beauty is so absolutely essential to God only shows how dull we have grown to him, to the world in which we live, and to Eve. Far too many years of our own spiritual lives were lived with barely a nod to beauty, to the central role that beauty plays in the life of God, and in our own lives. How could we have missed this?
Beauty is essential to God. No—that’s not putting it strongly enough. Beauty is the essence of God.
The first way we know this is through nature, the world God has given us. Scripture says that the created world is filled with the glory of God (Isa. 6:3). In what way? Primarily through its beauty. We had a wet spring here in Colorado, and the wildflowers are coming up everywhere—lupine and wild iris and Shasta daisy and a dozen others. The aspens have their heart-shaped leaves again, trembling in the slightest breeze. Massive thunderclouds are rolling in, bringing with them the glorious sunsets they magnify. The earth in summer is brimming with beauty, beauty of such magnificence and variety and unembarrassed lavishness, ripe beauty, lush beauty, beauty given to us with such generosity and abundance it is almost scandalous.
Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Stop for a moment and let that sink in. We’re so used to evaluating everything (and everyone) by their usefulness, this thought will take a minute or two to dawn on us. Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Which is to say, beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses (for our God has seen fit to arrange for this). Nature at the height of its glory shouts, Beauty is essential! revealing that Beauty is the essence of God. The whole world is full of his glory.
Today's Turning Point with David Jeremiah
Monday, August 10
Fires and Floods
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
Isaiah 43:2
Recommended Reading
Daniel 3:22-27
Anyone who has seen a rampaging river or a burning house knows the terror of flood and flame. The destructive power of fire and water is dreadful to see. Yet these are the dramatic images Isaiah uses to describe our own trials and troubles in life.
The Lord hasn't promised to keep us out of hardship, but He has given us two great promises to sustain us when we're in it: He will be with us, and our troubles will not overwhelm us. I will be with you… They shall not overflow you.
Remember how the Lord brought the Israelites through the waters of the Red Sea in Exodus 14, and how He stood with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- Nego in the fiery furnace of Daniel 3? If a problem is pressing down on you today, claim Isaiah 43:2. Picture the Lord as though He were really beside you, for He is. Trust Him to keep you from being swept away or consumed by your circumstances, for He has promised that His grace is sufficient.
When through fiery trials, thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
John Keith
Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 37:1 - 41:18
Fires and Floods
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
Isaiah 43:2
Recommended Reading
Daniel 3:22-27
Anyone who has seen a rampaging river or a burning house knows the terror of flood and flame. The destructive power of fire and water is dreadful to see. Yet these are the dramatic images Isaiah uses to describe our own trials and troubles in life.
The Lord hasn't promised to keep us out of hardship, but He has given us two great promises to sustain us when we're in it: He will be with us, and our troubles will not overwhelm us. I will be with you… They shall not overflow you.
Remember how the Lord brought the Israelites through the waters of the Red Sea in Exodus 14, and how He stood with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- Nego in the fiery furnace of Daniel 3? If a problem is pressing down on you today, claim Isaiah 43:2. Picture the Lord as though He were really beside you, for He is. Trust Him to keep you from being swept away or consumed by your circumstances, for He has promised that His grace is sufficient.
When through fiery trials, thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
John Keith
Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 37:1 - 41:18
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